Improvement in lubricators



Unirrnp STATES PATEN. muore.

THOMAS W. GODWIN, OF PORTSMOUTH, VIRGINIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN LUBRICAT'ORS. I

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 40,175, datcd November 9, 1863.

To aZZ whom it may concern: 4

Be it known that I, THOMAS W. GoDwIN, of Portsmouth, in the county of Norfolk and State of Virginia, have invented anew and useful Improvement in Lubricators; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and eXact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which represent a sectional elevation of my improved lubricator, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

The object of this class of inventions is the admission of .oil or heated tallow to the interior of the cylinders and other parts of a steamengine, under and in spite of the pressure of the steam, in such a manner that'it cannot escape during the admission of the oil.

It is evident that every arrangement which would effect this object must consist of two chambers or reservoirs, with two valves so connected and operating that one valve shall always be closed to prevent the escape of the steam while the other is open for the passage of the lubricating substance, and that these offices should be alternately performed by each valve.

There have been many modifications of this general arrangement, each proposing to obviate the difficulties in the. most simple and expeditious manner, but all more or less defective, inconvenient, and expensive. I propose to accomplish the object by my improved lubricator in a manner at once simple, convcnient, effective, and economical ol time and power.

To enable others skilled in the art to understand and use my invention, I will proceed to describe it, and to specify some ot' its advantages over all other inventions for a similar purpose.

In the accompanying drawing, A represents a Vertical feeding-cup, greatly elongated at its lower extremity andl hollowed for the reception and passage of the oil from the top of the cup to A, from which point it continues in the form of a solid shaft until it terminates in the screw-plug A. The elongated lower extremity of the feeding-cup A is provided with exterior screw-threads, as shown at c c c c c, by means of which it is screwed down or up in the reservoir B, and the screw-plug valve at Cf closed or opened. n

B represents the walls, and E the cavity, of

a reservoir having a circular aperture at the top, into which screws the feeding-cup A, and having a tubular outlet at the bottom O, which is closed or opened at-pleasure by the screwplug A. rIhis reservoir is attached to the machinery that is to be lubricated by the screw-threads shown at Z Z Z Z. For the sake of strength and neatness it may be provided with a movable collar, attached by screws or otherwise, as shown at G.

It will be observed that the feeding-cup A f forms two chambers, the lower, D, of a tubular form, and the upper, K, of the form of an inverted bell. The walls of the lower chamber do not end at the bottom of the upper charnber, but continue through it to m m, forming a tube rising through the center of it, which, from t' t' to m m, is provided with interior screw-threads for the reception and working of the screw-plug F. This screw-plug is provided with a handle, H. The direction of its screw-threads a a a is opposite to that of the screwthreads c c con the elongated lower eX'- tremity of the feeding-cup. rIhe lower chamber, D, communicates with the upper chamber, K, only bythe small apertures 'i i, and with the cavity of the reservoir B only by the small apertures shown at d d cl. r The screw-plug F is for the purpose of opening and closing the communication between K and D at t' t'.

The operation of an oil-cup thus constructed is as follows: The oil is first poured into the upper chamber, K K, of the feeding-cup A, where it runs down and fills the apertures t' i, but is stopped from proceeding farther by the screw-plug F. The operator now turns the handle ot' this screw-plug to the left, when the plug rises and the oil is allowed to tiow into the lower chamber, D, and through the apertures d d into the reservoirchamber E, where it runs to thebottom and is stopped by the screw-plug A. The latter is closed, since the same motion of the handle H that caused the screw-plug F to rise caused the screw-plug A to fall, their threads running in opposite directions. The operator now reverses the motion of the handle H, whereupon the plug F screws down past the apertures i z', closing them again, and its'threads bear upon the walls of Aat n n, arresting its further progress downward. The motion ot' H is now communicated to the whole apparatus A and F co'mbined, and A begins to turn also, the screwplug F remaining in its fixed position; but

the same. motion that causes F to fall in the inclosing-tube causes A to 'rise in the reservoir, since the screw-threads by which it is held there run in an opposite direction to those of F. The screw-plug A therefore rises, and permits the oil to iiow into the tube C, and thence to the machinery. Upon reversing the motion of the handle H the feeding-cup A screws down again, closing the valve C. At the instant that the valve is closed the turning of A and its motion downward are arrested, and it is held in va fixed position while the screwplug F commencesto unscrew and rises again, to allow the descent of the oil through the tube D.

An oil-cup constructed and operated as above described has an advantage over all others, in that it is less liable to get out of repair. Every part of my improved oil-cup is substantial and permanent. There is not a spring about it. The valves are both screwplug valves. The parts are few in number, of comparatively large size, and can be very strongly put together, so as to work without p any'need of repairs as long as the engine lasts.

Secondly, the operator has to move only a` 4 i other parts of the machinery is entirely hid- 1 den from sight.

single handle. This he turns in one direction to seat the lower valve and open the upper, and in the other direction to seat the upi secure by Letters Patent, is-

per valve and open the lower. In this respect my invention has great and manifest advantages over that of J. D. Custer, patented March 24, 1857, in which the screwthreads, corresponding to those in my invention at c e c and at a a a, run in the same direction, in 4 consequence-of which the two valves corresponding to F and A are both screwed up or down at the same moment by the movement of the handle H. To obviatethis ditliculty the cup A has to be provided with a handle, in his invention, by which the operator can hold it steady with one hand while he screws.

the valve F up or down with the other; but by making the screw-threads referred to run in a' direction opposite to'each other, my in- 1858, requires the continued pressure of the hand upon the heated handle for several minutes together. Mine requires only that with the thumb or finger, or with even a stick held in the hand, a few turns be given to the handle in one direction, and thenthat the motion be reversed by the same means.

Fourthly, every operation of my invention is directly und er the eye of the operator, who

sees the motion of the valve-stems as they alternately rise and fall, and can therefore direct them intelligently and without danger of mistake. In nearly every other similar invention the operation of the valves and of What I claim as my invention, and desire to The arrangement and operation of a screwplug valve, F, having threads a a a, running in one direction, and a combined feeding-cup and grinding-valve A A, having threads c c c, running in the opposite direction, in connection with an oil'cup, substantially as shown and described.

r Trios. w. Gonwm. Witnesses:

D. E. SoMns, JAs. C. STRoUT. 

